Brickmaking machine



11111624, 1930- R. P. M. DAVIS BRICK MAKING MACHINE Filed June 11, 1929 mw Fl.

3 Sheets-Sheet 1 INVENTOR.

A TTORNEY June 24, 1930. R. P. M. DAVIS BRICK MAKING MACHINE 3 Sheets-Sheet 2 Filed June 11, 1929 IN VEN TOR. M P- M- BY ATTORNEY June 24, 1930. R. P. M. DAVIS BRICK MAKING MACHINE 3 Sheets-Sheet 3 Filed June 11, 1929 INVENTOR.

ATTORNEY Patented June 24, 1930 UNETED STATES ROY P. M. DAVIS, 01: MOUNT UNION, PENNSYLVANIA BRICKMAKING MACHINE,

Application filed June 11,

My invention relates to brick making machines, and more particularly to means for washing the brick mold after the brick has been stripped therefrom and before again receiving a charge ofbrick making material.

The object of the invention is to provide a simple economical means for completely cleaning the mold after the stripping operation.

Another object of the invention is to provide means whereby. the liquid employed in the cleaning operation may be separated from the brick making material and both liquid and brick making material recovered for reuse.

With these and other objects in view my invention resides in the general arrangement and combination of parts which will be hereinafter more fully described in the following specification and specifically set forth in the appended claims when taken in conjunction with the accompanying drawings, in which:

Figure 1 is a side view of a brick making machine embodying my invention;

Figure 2 is a side elevation, partly in section, to show the liquid spraying mechanism;

Figure 3 is a section on the line 33 of Figure 2; and

Figure 1 is a detail section of the liquid storage tank.

Referring more particularly to the drawings wherein like reference numerals denote corresponding parts throughout the several views, the numeral 1 indicates the floor. of the building in which the brick making ma chine is located. Mounted upon the floor 1 is a catch basin 2 with which the upper end of a liquid supply or feed pipe 3con1municates, for supplying liquid to the manifold 4c and spray nozzles 5 thereon. The liquid employed is water but under certain conditions it may be advisable to use other liquids, such as oil. i

The molds 6, which require a thorough washing after the bricks have been removed and before being filled with a fresh supply of brick making material are slid along rails 7, suitably supported in the brick mak- 1929 Serial No. 370,131.

ing machine frame (not shown) to a position directly above the nozzles 5. As the mold reaches washing position a cover plate 8, provided with a gasket 9 on its under face, is lowered into contact with the top surface of the mold, by any suitable means (not shown) connected to the rods 10. When the cover plate has been tightly seated over the top of the mold, a normally closed valve 11 in pipe 3 is opened by any suitable means (not shown) connected to the rod 12, which in turn is connected to and acts upon the valve through levers 13 and 14 and valve stem15.

A motor pump 16 connected with thelower end of pipe 3, and communicating with a supply tank 17 by a short inlet pipe 18, is employed for pumping liquid from the supply tank. This pump is mounted upon a block 20 having channel iron legs 21 which rest upon brackets 22 secured to the tank 17 When the pump is put into operation water will be sucked from the tank through pipe lSand pumped out through pipe 3 to manifold 42 and spray nozzles 5, there being a nozzle for each mold compartment 19. The interior of the mold will thus be thoroughly cleansed by the jets of water which impinge upon the gasket 9 and are deflected in all directions in a horizontal plane finally running down over the surface of the mold and into the catch basin or tank 2. i The water together with what mud, has been washed off the moldduring the wash ing operation is collected upon the inclined bottom 24 ofthe catch basin and from there drained into the screw conveyorhousing 25 by means of a drain pipe 26,1eading down wardly from the basin and communicating with the conveyor housing at a point approximately midway the length of the 'latter. The housing 25, which is mounted on beams 27 is inclinedfrom the horizontal so that the water will flow by gravity to the lower end while the mud or solid particles are raised to the upper end in a manner to be presently described.

Mounted in the housing 25, is a screw conveyor 28 which is slowly and continu ously rotated by means of a bevel gear 29 mounted on the end of the conveyor shaft 30 and in mesh with the bevel gear 31 fixed to a driven shaft 32. This shaft 32 has a sprocket 33 which is connected to a sprocket 34 on a driving shaft 35 by means of sprocket chain 36, the driving shaft 35 being connected to any suitable source of power, not shown. A large sprocket wheel 37 on the shaft 35 meshes with and drives a bucket conveyor chain 38 carrying buckets 39 which receive a mold charge of brick making material from the mud bin 40, and individually deliver it to the respective molds 6, in a well known manner, not shown. These buckets also receive the mud or solid particles which are raised to the upper end of the conveyor housing by the screw conveyor and discharged through the opening 41 in the bottom of the housing. Tracks 47 secured to uprights 48 mounted on the floor 49 of the pit 50 are engaged by rollers 51 of the bucket conveyor chain 38 thus supporting and guiding the latter.

lVater is sucked from the lower end of the conveyor housing into the supply tank 17 through the passage 42 and naturally seeks its level therein above a screen 43, provided to prevent the passage of any large particles. A predetermined water level 44 is maintained in the conveyor housing and the supply tank by means of a float controlled valve 45 in water supply pipe 46 connected with any suitable source of supply not shown, thus compensating for water carried away by the molds or lost through leakage, etc.

The screw conveyor will preferably be driven at such a slow speed that the water will not be agitated, thus permitting the finer solids to settle before reaching the lower end of the housing. It should also be noted that by virtue of the screw conveyor shaft 30 being driven from the bucket carrier or conveyor sprocket shaft 35, the motion of the screw 28 is synchronized with that of the bucket carrier or conveyor so that one bucket 39 in the carrier receives the small amount of mud washed from each mold, thus avoiding the accumulations of washings from numerous molds and the discharge thereof into one bucket of the carrier, a condition which might aifect the quality of the brick.

Having thus described my invention what I claim as my invention is:

1. In a brick making machine, a sectional mold and support therefor, mold washing means positioned beneath the mold support, means for covering the top of the mold, and means for causing the washing means to discharge a washing fluid against the bottom of said covering means.

2. In a brick making machine, a mold and support therefor, means for projecting the washing fluid against the mold for washing the brick mud therefrom and means for separating the washing fluid from the mud.

3. In a brick making machine, a mold and support therefor, mold washing means for projecting a washing fluid against the mold to wash the brick making mud therefrom, means for separating the solid material from the washing fluid and returning the latter to the mold washing means.

4. In a brick making machine, a mold and mold support therefor, means for delivering brick making material to the mold, mold washing means for spraying the mold with a washing liquid for removing brick making material therefrom, means for separating the brick making material washed from the mold from the washing liquid and returning the liquid to the mold washing means and also returning the separated material to the brick making material delivery means.

5. In a brick making machine, a mold and mold support, a catch basin beneath the mold support, a mold spraying device in said catch basin for projecting a washing liquid against the mold for washing the brick making material therefrom, a liquid supply tank for supplying liquid to the spraying device, a screw separator communicating with the catch basin for receiving the waste water and solid material collected therein, said separator being in communication with said supply tank for returning the waste water thereto, and a brick making material conveyor for receiving the solid matter from the screw separator recovered from the waste water.

6. In a brick making machine, a mold and mold support therefor, mold washing means for projecting a washing liquid against the mold for cleansing the same, said washing means including a catch basin, a separator in communication with the catch basin for receiving and separating the waste water and solid material collected therein in said basin, means for delivering brick making material to the mold, said separator having an opening for discharging the recovered solid matter from said waste washing liquid onto said brick making material delivery means.

7. In a brick making machine, a mold and mold support therefor, mold washing means for projecting a washing liquid against the mold for cleansing the same, said washing means including a catch basin, a separator in communication with the catch basin for receiving and separating the waste water and solid material collected therein in said basin, means for delivering brick making material to the mold, said separator having an opening for discharging the recovered solid matter from said waste washing liquid onto said brick making material delivery means and means for returning the recovered Waste Washing liquid to the mold Washing means.

8. In a brick making machine, a mold and mold support therefor, a bucket conveyor for delivering mud to the mold, liquid spraying means for cleansing the mold of mud after the stripping operation, means for separating the mud from the liquid re sulting from the washing operation and for depositing the recovered mud in one of the buckets of the bucket conveyor and means for returning the separated liquid to the liquid spraying means.

9. In a brick making machine, a mold and support therefor, mold Washing means for projecting a washing liquid against the mold for Washing the mud therefrom, and means for recovering the washin liquid from the mixture of liquid and mucf and returning the liquid to the mold Washing means.

In testimony whereof I aflix my signature.

ROY P. M. DAVIS. 

